I had to do it - but only in the hospital so I never had to do things like refit one that had gone for a wander or anything.

The actual feeding itself is no bother at all - it's basically screw the syringe on and just let the required amount trickle its way down with the odd gentle tickle with the plunger if you need to get it started off - I found it much easier to do that all with myself lying down knees up and her lying on my knees looking at me so I had her supported but both hands free (and she wasn't trying to grab the NG tube with her fingers because she was busy watching me)... what I always struggled with was the checking the tube position before doing a feed - where you have to pull up a tiny bit of the stomach contents to check the pH level's right (and you're getting stomach acidy-last feed milky stuff) - there were a fair few feeds where I had a heck of a time getting that done (as did the ward staff with her as well really)! There are a few different tricks that different people do for that - and everyone seems to have their own particular quirks of how they were taught to do it which drove me nuts!

I hated some of the nurses doing it on the Nicu they were really impatient with her some even pushed the last bit of the feed down.
That led to her having a lot of desats i hope i will be taught by someone who has a little more patience.
Hoping will get some help at home it worries the hell out of me the tube moving, well hopefully it won't take me to long after all i was watching them do it for nearly 10 weeks

There was two methods we we used, sometimes we had to slooooowly push the syringe and at times where she didnt cope with that, we had to just let the milk trickle- no plunger. There was a name they used for that but I just can't remember right now. That's going to annoy me now! Probably was drip feeding!

They wouldn't advise you to do it unless they thought you were capable Hun x

My daughter was NG fed from birth until she was 15 months old, then her NG was replaced with a G-tube (one surgically placed in stomach), as her issue is longer term. She's now 3.

NG feeding is a bit scary at 1st but once you've got the hang of it it's not so bad.

Re the support at home - we had community nurses that would come out if needed, but to be honest we learnt how to repass the tube ourselves pretty quickly as she used to pull hers out/sick it up lots lol! They don't come out to us really anymore as we do everything at home by ourselves - we change her G-tube ourselves now too.

If you struggle to get an aspirate (some stomach contents to PH test) - it sometimes helps to move the child around a bit, move onto each side, sit up, etc, or wiggle the NG a bit by the nose.

We have a pump for the milk as she has a lot over a long time (wouldn't tolerate boluses (using a syringe)).

Re your supplies - we get a delivery every month from a company called Homeward, the tape came from the nurses/GP.

One tip for taping NG tubes - we used cavilon on her face 1st (a barrier to stop irritation), then duoderm on her cheek, ng on top, then hyperfix on top to secure.

Well at the moment am having to do syringe feeding at home as its over christmas they couldent sort out a pump for me.
Deanna has now been diagnosed with silent reflux and is on loads of medsbut is at least home for christmas, only came out for home leave as they want to see how her weight goes before discharging her again.
She was also seen by S.A.L.T and i was told by them she had an uncoordinated suck,swallow.I wonder how long this is going to carry on for.

OMG I know exactly what you are going thru. My son was a pronounced refluxer. He had to have surgery to stop the reflux because he was aspirating it into his lungs and turning blue. We started out on a 24 hour feeding pump. It has been a couple of months and we are now on bolus feeds. (gravity in a 60 cc syringe) I have to feed him every hours but it is worth it to get him thru this part. I won't lie, the beginning is VERY hard on you. It is hard to come to terms with the love/hate relationship with you LO's GTube. Unfortunately the speech therapy is a big deal for the suck/swallow reflex. Babies with a g-tube often lose the instinct. If your baby uses a pacifier, use it only when feeding if you are doing bolus feeds. (or timed feeds) 24 hour feeds are harder. try putting a tiny bit of formula on her passy and allow her to suck on it. Also cold/hot sensations will help. There are exercises that ST will teach you. Do them as much as possible. My DS lost his ability as well. Now he takes about 5 feedings a day by bottle. I turn on some music and make it part of our play time right after each nap he takes. Good bonding and good workout. Al;so, use your finger allot for her to suck on.

The meds are hard to avoid. What all is she on?
Mine has a plethora of meds that I have to keep organized or go nuts.
Over all, just hang in there. It does get easier.

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